Bass, known as Forte (フォルテ,Forute?) in Japan, is a Robot Master created by Dr. Wily to imitate Mega Man's design, along with Treble, an imitation of Rush's design. He was created based on a research conducted on Mega Man with the intention of surpassing his power sometime during or before the events of Mega Man 6, and made his debut in Mega Man 7. Bass is the prominent anti-hero of the Mega Man classic series, and his goal is to become the most powerful robot in existence. Although Bass and Mega Man are rivals, at times they team up to take down mutual enemies of the two. Despite being created by Dr. Wily, Bass frequently rebels against his creator, usually for his own purposes.

Contents

Main appearances

Mega Man and Bass battling each other during their fateful encounter in Mega Man 7.

Bass is first encountered at the end of the intro-level stage and is fought as a mini-boss. According to himself, he and Treble were trying to stop Dr. Wily, and he picked that fight with Mega Man to see if he lived up to his reputation. If Mega Man defeats him, then he'll tell Mega Man that he's as good as everyone says, and that he might not need his help. If it's the other way around, then Bass will scoff at Mega Man, telling him that he's too weak to battle Wily. Later on, Bass and Treble are seen again at Shade Man's stage, after purposely getting themselves injured in battle. Bass then starts putting himself down, saying that he feels stupid to have been beaten so easily, and that he should probably leave Wily to Mega Man. Mega Man responds by telling him that "[they're] a team", and that Dr. Light will be glad to fix him up. Bass and Treble then warp away to Dr. Light's lab to get repaired. Sometime later, after the repairs were finished, Mega Man comes back to the lab to find that it's been trashed, and that the culprit behind it was none other than Bass. Dr. Light then tells him that Bass stole all the parts for the "new enhancements," as well. Shortly afterward, Dr. Wily appears on the monitor and reveals that Bass and Treble are his creations, and that he used Bass to get closer to Mega Man, so that he could earn his trust, and then steal the Super Adapter blueprints, so that he could use that enhancement for Bass and Treble.

Bass and Treble's fusion, as it appears in Mega Man 7.

Bass is encountered again for the third time at the first stage of Dr. Wily's castle, where he's once again fought as a mini-boss. The two of them have a battle, and Mega Man manages to defeat him. Bass then swears revenge, saying that he'll be back. He, of course, stays true to his word, as he is encountered for a fourth time at the very next Wily Castle stage. This time, he performs a fusion with Treble, and tries to destroy Mega Man with the very enhancements that he stole, which were meant for Mega Man and Rush. After a hard fight, Bass is once again defeated, and warps away. He and Treble aren't seen again until the ending, where they save Dr. Wily when Mega Man was about to kill him, with Bass stating his now famous quote: "He who hesitates is lost". Bass also appears as a playable character in the hidden two-player battle mode.

The events of this game take place after the events of Mega Man 7. Dr. Wily has revived many Robot Masters from the previous games. Angry about their resurrection (due to the fact that he feels that they're standing in his way of defeating Mega Man), Bass temporarily teams up with Mega Man and Proto Man to stop them, and to prove to Dr. Wily once and for all, that he is the strongest, and doesn't need to make anymore "junk robots".

Bass is first seen at the very beginning of the game, alongside Treble, fighting against Mega Man and Rush. After Mega Man questions their reasons for fighting, Bass responds by attempting to shoot him, prompting Mega Man to dodge the attack and return fire, knocking Bass into an elevator shaft and causing him to be tied up in steel cables. The battle was soon interrupted by Roll when she informed Mega Man about what was going on, causing Mega Man to leave. Bass then frees himself by tearing off the steel cables and destroying a falling elevator cabin above with a buster shot, before vowing revenge.

However, Bass shows up again later on, and fights against Mega Man in the third level of the Wily Tower. Although Mega Man had warned him not to do so, Bass used Evil Energy to power up his attacks, and assume a stronger form of his Treble Boost. Here, he has no weakness, although the Flash Bomb can hit him multiple times. Mega Man manages to defeat him once again and Bass then vows never to give up trying to defeat Mega Man, before teleporting out.

Bass, once again angry at Dr. Wily for resurrecting his previous Robot Masters, fights alongside Mega Man, Proto Man, as well as Duo, in order to stop them. In Bass' ending of Power Fighters, Dr. Wily says that when he was creating Bass, he also accidentally created "Bassnium" ("Fortenium" in Japan), a very powerful energy, that he is studying to improve and create a robot that has more strength than Mega Man and Bass together. Bass says that a "girlie-looking long-haired robot" like this would never defeat him. During Bass and Proto Man's ending (during the two-player cooperative mode), Bass tells Proto Man that his "mysterious behavior" bugs him, and that he's going to deal with him after he defeats Mega Man. Proto Man then responds, saying that they will never fight, because he'll never defeat Mega Man due to the fact that he only fights to be the best, while Mega Man fights for the future of robots and humans. In his ending with Duo, he rebukes Duo's thanks and simply tells him to come back stronger for a duel. Duo comments that Bass is strange, but he does have some energy for justice inside him. During his cooperative ending with Mega Man, Bass decides to pick another fight with him, but the outcome of the fight is unknown.

A robot calling himself King attacked and took over the recently built Wily Castle, declaring he was the strongest robot and that robots were superior to humans, thus he wanted to create a nation of robots without humans. Mega Man ​​is sent by Dr. Light to stop King, and Bass, who took offense to King's claims of being the strongest robot, embarks on yet another mission to destroy the Robot Masters (as well as King himself) before Mega Man can, so that he could prove that he's the strongest, and to get Wily's Castle back. Bass, of course, does manage to defeat them. After using all eight of the Robot Masters' powers to open the gate to King's castle, Bass goes through it and destroys all obstacles in his way, and eventually comes across King himself. King congratulates Bass for making it that far into the castle, and then engages Bass in combat. King, wielding a shield with reflective abilities, used that to absorb Bass' blasts and send them right back at him in the form of a powerful laser beam. Because of this device, King was seemingly unstoppable. That is, until Proto Man appeared and used his powerful "Big Bang Strike" ability. Due to the fact that Proto Man used nearly all of his power on that attack, it was too much energy for King's shield to absorb, which led into it getting destroyed, as well as King getting hit and weakened by it in the process. No longer in possession of that shield, Bass' attacks actually began to do some damage, and he ended up defeating King.

Bass fighting against King in Mega Man & Bass.

King then questions Bass, asking why he's fighting for "lowly beings" like the humans, and tells him that robots are more advanced than them. Bass then tells him not to forget that humans are the ones who created robots. After that, King asks Bass to finish him off, but first teleports an unconscious Proto Man out of the fortress. Bass then asks King who created him, and King answers him by telling him that Dr. Wily was his creator, which shocks Bass. Shortly afterwards, Dr. Wily appears on the monitor, scolding King for helping an enemy, and telling him to finish Bass off. King refuses, and then Dr. Wily uses a device to increase his "brainwashing" (and supposedly enhancing King's power in the process). King's armor then changes from gold to a violet coloring, and then he breaks through the wall and enters the next room. Bass follows him, only to find King fusing with the giant blue machines that he fought while he was at King's fortress. Bass engages King in combat once more, and defeats him once again. After that, King tells Bass to get out of the castle quickly before it explodes while he's in it. Bass, in a rare display of humanity, shows concern for King, asking about his safety. King told Bass that he would make it out of the castle somehow, but after Bass leaves. Bass quickly warps out of the castle, leaving King behind. During King's "last" words, before he's supposedly destroyed, he says that he and Bass could have probably been good friends. After that, the castle explodes, seemingly killing King and burying him under rubble.

Bass using the Treble Boost adaptor in Mega Man & Bass.

After his victory over King, Bass decides to go to Dr. Wily's newly built laboratory to challenge him out of anger of being deceived and betrayed. Bass once again, manages to overcome all obstacles in his path, including the newly resurrected Robot Masters, and eventually came face to face with the doctor himself. Dr. Wily then thanks Bass for getting rid of King, and then told him that he was going to put a restraining bolt on him before he goes haywire like King did. The two of them engage one another in combat, and Dr. Wily is eventually defeated, and starts bowing to Bass, pleading for mercy. Bass then holds Wily at gunpoint, demanding an explanation for creating King. According to Dr. Wily, he created King to test Bass' abilities. He supposedly designed King with the intention of creating the most powerful robot in the world, and since Bass destroyed him, he has proven himself as the strongest. Bass scoffs at him, telling him that it was a "lame excuse", and then Dr. Wily changes the subject by revealing his plans for a second model of King. He told Bass that if he joins King II, then the two of them will be unstoppable. Before Bass could answer, however, Proto Man arrives and destroys the plans. Angered, Dr. Wily orders Bass to destroy Proto Man, but he refuses. Proto Man then asks Bass if he would rather destroy Mega Man with his own power. After that, he decides to give Bass a lecture, saying that he will never defeat Mega Man because he has "nothing to fight for". Bass then gets angry about it, telling Proto Man to get lost, in which he does. After that, Bass scoffs at Proto Man, saying that he doesn't need a reason to fight, and will continue fighting to destroy Mega Man.

Although Bass didn't make a physical appearance in this game, he does make a small cameo in the ending. His blueprints can be seen in the background, on Dr. Wily's computer. Supposedly, he was undergoing adjustments during the events of the game.[2]

Bass and Treble's descriptions in the operations manual for Mega Man 10.

As with Proto Man in Mega Man 9, Bass was confirmed as a playable character in Mega Man 10 unlockable through downloadable content. According to the Mega Man 10 operations manual, he can shoot in 7 directions like he did in Mega Man & Bass.[3] Unlike the Proto Man Mode in Mega Man 9, Bass has a story in this game and a store featuring Reggae as the owner, even though there are less items in the store and the remaining items cost more. As always, he was fighting the Robot Masters to

Bass mode promo

prove that he's the strongest.

Sometime during his journey through Dr. Wily's castle, Bass succumbs to the Roboenza virus and collapses to the floor. However, Treble came to his rescue by giving him one of the prototype cures that he stole from Dr. Wily, and Bass was able to recover and continue his journey through the castle. He eventually came face to face with Dr. Wily, and defeated him once again. Afterward, he mocks him for his "half-brained plans for world domination". It was then revealed that Dr. Wily caught the flu, but Bass assumed that it was Roboenza. Dr. Wily then assures him that it isn't Roboenza (due to the fact that it only affects robots, rather than humans). Seemingly, Bass just left Dr. Wily there to suffer. However, it was later revealed that Dr. Wily was taken to the hospital by unknown circumstances.

Other appearances

Bass appears as a playable character that uses the vehicle Treble Darkstar, a balanced machine with the attacks Bass Buster and Bass Blast. He entered the Battle & Chase contest to race against Mega Man. If Bass wins the contest, he isn't satisfied for defeating Mega Man as it was just a race, and wants to defeat him in a real battle. In the Japanese version, Wily contacts Bass and asks him for the prize money, but he ignores Wily and leaves the money in a beach.

A group of futuristic robots calling themselves the Dimensions attacked Symphony City, a city where robots and humans lived together in peace. The one leading the Dimensions was Rockman Shadow, a robot very similar to Mega Man. Mega Man heard this news at Dr. Light's laboratory and goes to the scene, while at the same time Wily sends Bass to see who this evil Mega Man was. Bass agrees to help Mega Man stop the robots because Wily's laboratory was near the city.

After Bass defeated the Grey Devil in Rockman Shadow's robot factory, Rockman Shadow tells Bass he will reveal his true identity if he can defeat his underlings. Bass manages to defeat all the Robot Masters and Rockman Shadow reveals to him he is a robot like Quint that Wily created when he traveled to the future. Rockman Shadow then offers Bass to join him to destroy the real Mega Man, and that way he will be truly the strongest. Bass rejects the offer and says he will do things his way, first of which to destroy Rockman Shadow. The two of them engage in a "battle to the death" and Rockman Shadow is eventually defeated. Before dying, he tells Bass that after Quint's defeat, he was the only robot left. He increased his strength, and devastated the world. As nothing was able to stop him in the future, he traveled back in time to find someone that could defeat him. He also tells Bass that seeking strength is not the way of robots, because even if Bass crushes his enemy, a superior one will always appear until he ends up dead like him. Bass admits it was a good lesson and he and Mega Man bury Rockman Shadow, before leaving Bass tells Mega Man that he will forgive his life at the time, but tells him to not forget that he (Bass) is the strongest. Bass later is shown in the game ending credits with Treble taking a nap and in the ending picture with Dr. Light's team and Rockman Shadow.[4]

Mega Man Megamix

Bass appears in the Megamix incarnation of the Mega Man story relatively unchanged from his game origin. His design is slightly modified, featuring rivets along his gold trim, an enlarged white collarpiece, Wily's W insignia etched into his chest gem (as opposed to a belt buckle like Wily's Robot Masters), and his helmet lacks a chin guard. The most notable change from his game version is the fact he appears borderline psychopathic, prone to fits of insanity and extreme violence which often prove to be an enormous threat not only to Mega Man, but even to Wily's own robots. Similar to his game version, he refuses to obey Wily's orders, although instead of being fixated on defeating Mega Man, he is highly focused on taking down anybody supposidely more powerful than he is, obsessed with proving he is the absolute strongest with the complete disregard for his own life.

Bass first appeared in the story "Holiday of Soldiers". When Bass saw Proto Man's strength, he tried to fight against him, but Proto Man left the area to avoid Dr. Light's six robots being harmed. In Wily's hideout, Wily is shown to be very angry because the eight robots from Mega Man 5 were defeated by Mega Man and Bass doesn't obey him, hitting the eight robots out to get money for him, destroying some objects, and punching a fake Bass with boxing gloves.
Some days later, Bass attacked Mega Man in the amusement park where the eight robots from Mega Man 5 where working to get money. In the story "Power Battle" Bass takes Roll hostage to make Mega Man fight against him.

Soundtrack

Bass and Treble first appeared in the Short Circuits present at the end of issue #4 of Archie's Mega Man comic,[5] and Bass also appeared in the Short Circuits of issue #18. His earliest official appearance in the series is in Mega Man #20 (Rock of Ages), when Mega Man is sent forward in time and meets him, also accidentally dragging him along in the time travel when they fought in a city under attack. Bass notices an abnormality in the sky every time they jump time, and with Mega Man's help, he destroys it, sending Mega Man back to the present.

Prior to the crossover, he was mentioned in Sonic Universe #50 by Doctor Eggman telling Metal Sonic that he was going to be working with a partner who is a "base villain". The two worked together well, and Bass even volunteered himself and Metal Sonic to kidnap Dr. Light due to his interference in the evil doctors' plans. The two also pursued Rouge when she sabotaged the Wily Egg, and managed to catch her despite the distraction caused by the release of the Chaos Devil. After hearing Eggman order Metal Sonic to take her to become another of the Roboticized Masters, Bass sneered at the idea and proclaimed his own superiority, only to have Wily order him to assist Metal Sonic.

Dr. Light also mentioned Bass as being an example of another occasion when Dr. Wily had "complete control" and Mega Man had to save him from himself in Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 250. Bass and Metal Sonic later acted as the last line of defense, although he and Treble eventually ended up being defeated when Mega Man and Sonic ganged up on him and Treble after fighting one on one against Bass proved to be unsuccessful. The fight was so damaging to the pair that they were unable to merge and continue the battle, with Bass also expressing irritation at the doctors, feeling he should have just handled things by himself, and were later seen being enveloped by the Super Genesis Wave.

Bass has made multiple appearances in the Short Circuits strips in the comic, making his first appearance in Issue 4. Here he was seen with Treble, Bass, Proto Man, and Rush, all with their faces against a window as Mega Man and Dr. Light walked by, demanding to be featured in the comic. In Issue 18 he anticipated being included in the comic after it had managed to reach a year's worth of issues, only to learn that the Mega Man 2 storyline had just barely been completed. To his dismay, he found himself in a waiting room with Proto Man, Enker, and either Quint or Rockman Shadow.

During the Worlds Collide crossover, Bass was featured in a number of Off Panels from the Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Universe series. In Sonic Universe Issue 51's strip, he was featured as a "Failed Concept" where Wily modified him with Sonic's bio-data, altering Bass' appearance to possess elements of Sonic's. He also appeared in the Short Circuits strip for Mega Man Issue 26, where he found a kindred spirit in E-123 Omega. It was planned for Bass to fuse with Metal Sonic during Worlds Collide as he does with Treble, but the idea was rejected.[6] The cut concept, however, was given a brief allusion in the Sonic Universe Issue 54's Off Panel section, where Mega Man expressed confusion about Bass and Metal Sonic's team up being a band.

Appearance

Bass' design was made in mind to be a polar opposite of Mega Man's. Bass is adorned in black armor with gold lining. On his chest there is a triangular blue crystal. He has purple stripes running down from his eyes and extending down his cheeks. He has distinct red eyes(usually with pink retinas). His helmet features large fins that resemble a cobra, giving him a slightly taller appearance than that of his rivals, and a cross-shaped blue jewel on the forehead. Concept art of Bass without his helmet drawn by Hitoshi Ariga shows him with dark, wild hair featuring a widow's peak (see gallery).

Personality

Bass is presented as an extremely smug, bad-tempered, egotistical, rebellious, fiercely independent and arrogant individual who believes that he's the strongest above all else. Bass is very prideful and thinks very highly of himself, labeling everyone else around him as inferior "junk robots". He has always been shown to hold a rivalry with Mega Man, but aside from him, Bass happens to have hatred for every robot that was created by Dr. Wily (with the possible exception of Treble and, needless to say, himself), since he feels that they're standing in the way of his goal to destroy Mega Man and become the strongest. Bass looks down on them, believing himself to be superior to them in every way, shape, and form. However, a notable aspect of his personality he showed in Mega Man & Bass was that he seemed to have some degree of respect for humans, since they created robots. Duo says that there is goodness in Bass (even going so far as to say that he has "justice energy"), which the latter ignored, saying that he only wants to fight, claiming that his only concern is who the strongest is. Despite his rivalry with Mega Man, he is willing to work alongside him if it is to his benefits, as evidenced by Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters and his aiding Mega Man in defeating Rockman Shadow's forces. The latter instance also implied that the aftermath of the battle left Bass with some respect for Mega Man. There's a possibility that Duo's claim of there being goodness in Bass is true, since he was able to use the Evil Energy Capsules in Mega Man 8 without dying. During the events of Mega Man & Bass, he even began to show some form of concern for King.

Bass's only concern.

Bass appears to care for Treble and vice versa, Bass always welcomes the fierce Treble despite the confidence in his own abilities,[7] his robotic wolf-like companion seems to understand all his commands and is very loyal to him, even bringing Bass a cure for Roboenza when he was infected.

Despite being extremely powerful, Bass' faults that usually lead to his downfall are his arrogance and overconfidence. According to Proto Man, it's because he has "nothing to fight for". The reason that he's continuously defeated by Mega Man is because of his selfish motive, which is simply to prove himself as the strongest, as opposed to Mega Man's desire to "fight for everyone's future" and bring peace to the world.

Powers and Abilities

Bassnium

Mega Man 7

Bass firing a charge shot.

In Mega Man 7 and the arcade games, Bass plays very much like Mega Man, and the only real difference is that rather than sliding, Bass can Air Dash. He has the capabilities of firing a (albeit different colored and skull shaped) Charged Shot, much like Mega Man. In Mega Man 7, Bass can fuse with Treble, and it had exactly the same capabilities as the Super Adapter; a jet booster and flying fist attack. However, unlike Mega Man, Bass has the ability to fire either a regular charged shot or a rocket punch while in this form, as opposed to just the rocket punch.
In the Mega Man 7 hidden two-player battle mode, Bass can perform a rising kick attack and an air dash attack, similarly in Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters he can perform two consecutive high jump flips.

Mega Man 8

In Mega Man 8, Bass gained many new abilities due to the fact that he used one of the Evil Energy capsules. He can fly as long as he wants, as well as being able to fire powerful laser beams. His super form with Treble also had a design change, although it's unknown whether or not this was because of the Evil Energy, or if the artists simply decided to redesign him that way (as they've also done with Roll).

Mega Man & Bass

Bass's abilities in Mega Man & Bass

In Mega Man and Bass, Bass is overhauled to make his gameplay inherently different from Mega Man's. While Mega Man can slide to reach into smaller crevices for secrets, Bass can Dash and double jump. He can also dash-jump to increase the distance of the jump. Bass's Buster was also modified to make him different from Mega Man, and instead of being able to charge, he fires quick, weak shots repeatedly in 1 of 7 directions. Bass also shares Mega Man's ability to copy abilities from other Robot Masters. Similar to Mega Man's ability to fuse with Rush, Bass can perform that ability as well with the Treble Boost, being able to fly and shoot in three directions at the same time.

"One of Wylie's Special Numbers made with the unknown alloy Bassnium, he aims to bury Mega Man by his own hands. He has already betrayed his own creator Dr. Wylie and teams up with support bot Treble to bring about his ends."

"Forte is a robot Dr. Wily created modeled after Rockman’s design, equipped with the energy source “Fortenium.” With a base on incredible power output and excellent mobility, his combat ability is near prototypes of battle Repliroids we have now.

Forte possess impressive AI, and for that reason he, unlike other robots, appears to be able to disobey his own master’s orders. This has points of similarity to the AI of present day Repliroids.

Forte views Rockman as his rival incredibly strongly, and for that reason he has an intense aspiration for the power to beat Rockman. Since he has a design like Rockman’s, he can achieve greater power through fusion.

Should nothing else come up that’s contradictory to this information, this robot, with consideration to the special characteristics of his infinite Fortenium power source, has a high likelihood of being closely similar to the prototypes of this era."[8]

This combat robot, created by Dr. Wily, first appeared in Mega Man 7. He sees Mega Man as his rival and will stop at nothing to defeat him. This strong sense of pride often leads to him disobeying his creator's orders too. Fusing with Treble, his support robot, powers him up and even allows him to fly.

"You don't have a choice! This is our fate! You can't escape! So come and get it!"

Mega Man: Battle & Chase

'"I'm the strongest!"

'"Don't despise me!"

'"It was just a race. I don't feel I truly defeated him. I must defeat him in a real fight before I can claim victory."

Mega Man & Bass

"Proto Man!!" (GBA version)

"Is that the robot who calls himself King? What a joke. Everyone knows that I am the mightiest robot in the world. I will show him who deserves to be called king!" (GBA)

"So, this is the robot they call King? There's only room for one 'Strongest' in this world, and that's me! No one will stand in the way of the forging of my legend as the world's most powerful being!" (SNES)

Trivia

Forte and Gospel were originally named Baroque (バロック, Barokku) and Crash (クラッシュ, Kurasshu) in early designs by Keiji Inafune, a play on the names Rock (ロック, Rokku) and Rush (ラッシュ, Rasshu) to emphasize their role as rivals. Inafune wanted to create a full-time rival for Mega Man who was "extremely competitive, and absolutely hated to lose".[9] Inafune eventually asked Hayato Kaji to create the designs that would become Bass and Treble.[10]

Baroque is also a style of music originating from the time period of the same name. Crash is a type of cymbal.

Bass is one of many of the characters who have music-inspired names. More specifically, his name refers to the lower bar in double-staff musical notation; his canine counterpart Treble's name refers to the upper bar. A Bass is also a type of guitar.

Bass's Japanese name comes from Forté. Forté is used as a dynamic directive in sheet music in its abbreviated form, {f.}, to indicate raising the volume of the music. Forte is also the Portuguese and Italian word for strong.

Although he is a recurring enemy of Mega Man, Bass never actually appears as a main stage boss. Instead, Mega Man always fights him as a mini-boss.

The aforementioned abilities (rapid fire, multi-directional) of the Bass Buster are similar to the shooting abilities of the Mega Man X character, Axl.

Bass has a similar personality to Vile from the Mega Man X series. The two of them both have a rivalry with one of the Mega Men (so strong, that they even object to other enemies trying to kill their rivals), are both extremely cocky and arrogant, have the same rebellious attitude, and only fight for the sake of themselves. However, Bass happens to be a lot more sane and less destructive than Vile is.

Bass also has a few similarities to Ballade, since the two of them both consider themselves to be the strongest, as well as the fact that they both have a dislike of weak opponents. Ballade seems to be competitive like Bass as well (though to a lesser extent), as he once fought Bass over who would destroy Mega Man in the manga.

There has been a lot of controversy concerning the pronunciation of Bass's name. Due to the fact that his name was erroneously pronounced "bass" (like the fish) in Mega Man 8, this has led many people to believe that it is actually pronounced that way. However, because of the fact that many characters within the Mega Man series are named after musical terms (and because of the fact that his wolf is named after one), this further supports the fact that his name is actually pronounced, "base", like the guitar.

Despite the fact that Bass had a small cameo in Mega Man 9, Treble was absent from the game entirely.

Aside from Dr. Wily, Bass actually has the most lines of any character in the original series.

Some slight controversy popped up when Bass shouted "Damn!" in Mega Man 7's English release, due to the Mega Man series widely being considered a "kids' series", and that the word "damn" is taboo. Bass's language, however, is cleaned up in Anniversary Collection. Ironically, X and Zero speak the expletive, most notably during Mega Man X3X4 and the Rockman X manga which wasn't "cleaned up" with the X series collection, likely because most consider the Mega Man X series to be darker and more "adult" than the regular series, in addition to the fact that the E10+ rating did not exist at the time Mega Man: Anniversary Collection was in development. However, translated versions of Mega Man & Bass have Bass using other words of the same nature, even though the Anniversary Collection was released afterwards.

This situation is similar to the game Shadow the Hedgehog from the Sonic series, as in that game, Shadow frequently swears, which brought up much controversy being that Sonic is also called a "kids' series." Shadow and Sonic's relationship is similar to that of Mega Man and Bass', and the two characters have similar personalities.

"Emulous" (Bass' good point in the Mega Man & Bass CD data) is defined as "eager or ambition to equal or surpass another or characterized or prompted by a spirit of rivalry".[11]

Despite Bass' helmet extending right down to his jaw, like Ballade's helmet, this feature is not present in any of his sprites, although it is seen in in-game artwork and official artwork of Bass. It should also be noted that in various manga's featuring Bass, his helmet also does not extend down to his jaw.

Though rather selfish, Bass does have rare moments of compassion and seems to care about Treble, especially in mangas and fanmade games.

Bass' walking animations in Mega Man 7 share the same poses with X's walking animations in the SNES era Mega Man X games, which would imply that Bass' sprites were based on X's sprites since Mega Man X came out earlier than Mega Man 7.

↑Mega Man 8 Manual: "An interesting pair. Who would have ever thought to pair a robot with a trusty canine sidekick? Wily figured if you can't beat 'em, copy 'em, so now Rush and Mega Man have Bass and Treble to deal with. Bass is convinced he can defeat Mega Man by himself yet welcomes the fierce Treble."

↑Mega Man: Official Complete Works Page 126: "Since Proto Man was kind of straddling the fence, I wanted to bring in a full-time rival for Mega Man. I wanted a guy who was extremely competetive, and absolutely hated to lose."